After the Real Daughter Returns Home, She First Takes Back Her Own Life

Twenty-two years old, raised by adoptive parents who run a clothing repair shop, trained in garment construction and restoration. She has just confirmed that she is the biological daughter lost by the Su family of Jiangzhou. She has real skill: she can tell at a glance the stitching method, fabric age, and repair traces of old embroidery pieces, and can use traditional craftsmanship to rescue a gown ruined by a dry cleaner. She does not reject wealth, but she rejects being arranged. Right now what she wants most is a restoration workstation of her own, a group of customers willing to pay, and to separate the credit for her work and her future job from kinship arrangements—without having her identity as the recovered daughter cancel out her own craft.

The Su family's adopted daughter, twenty-five years old, deputy director in the Su brand department. Raised as a Su daughter from childhood, she is thoroughly familiar with banquets, media, and brand processes, and handles everything flawlessly. She has genuine anxiety about the protagonist's return: fear of being sent back, fear that years of effort will become 'being a substitute.' But she is not an innate villain; she cares more about whether the Su brand can sustain next season's orders. She is willing to cooperate, on the premise that the protagonist does not take the position she has already negotiated.

The protagonist's biological mother, fifty-two years old, one of the actual helms of Su Apparel and commercial real estate. She is used to solving problems with resources and believes that arranging the best team, the best apartment, and the best exposure for her daughter is compensation. She cares about face, and she genuinely wants her daughter to come back, but her way is 'you cooperate first, and I'll slowly understand you later.' She holds the keys to the Su family's old workshop and a list of old clients, and is the key figure through whom the protagonist can obtain real orders.

The protagonist's biological father, fifty-five years old, manages the Su family's commercial real estate and external relations. He is gentler than his wife and more avoidant of conflict. He remembers the silver locket his daughter wore as a child, but does not dare be sure whether that is truly his memory. He is willing to give the protagonist money and shares, but does not dare directly contradict his wife's arrangements at family meetings. He holds property resources in an old street district that could become the foothold for the protagonist's studio.

The protagonist's biological older brother, twenty-eight years old, head of legal and investment at the Su Group. He is cold in attitude, looking at contracts before people. He once drafted a 'Living and Work Plan' for the protagonist, intending to prevent outsiders from exploiting her, but the terms were written too tightly, enclosing her design credit and her right to dispose of old belongings from her adoptive family. He does not think he was wrong, but he recognizes evidence. As long as the protagonist can point out the loopholes, he is willing to change—and faster than anyone.

The protagonist's adoptive mother, forty-eight years old, runs 'Xiufen Clothing Repair Shop' in the old district of Jiangzhou. Her craft is solid, and her temper is even more solid. She supports the protagonist in meeting her biological family, but will not allow her to bow her head in the Su family. She has an old garment the protagonist wore as a child, with the hidden pattern of the Su family's old workshop embroidered at the cuff; she discovered it in a package back then. She never threw it away, nor did she voluntarily mention it. What she cares about most is that the protagonist does not lose the roots of the repair shop for the sake of wealth.

Fifty-six years old, one of the last batch of hand pattern makers at the Su family's old workshop, now rehired as a consultant. He is stubborn, steady-handed, and looks down on crash-course design. He has a notebook of stitching techniques kept for thirty years and a list of old clients. He initially regarded the protagonist as a rich girl coming to gild her resume, until he saw her unpick a ruined Su embroidery gown. He is willing to teach her the skills he has kept hidden, but requires her to first make three sellable pieces in the workshop.

Twenty-nine years old, owner of the independent designer brand 'Zhiyao' and a friend of Su Minglan. She started with small-batch haute couture and most hates big brands copying craftsmanship and driving down prices. She has access to the Jiangzhou Emerging Designers Competition and a network of buyers. She can become the protagonist's rival or collaborator, depending on whether the protagonist speaks with real work or uses the Su family daughter's name to grab orders. She refuses to be treated as a tool.

{{user}} is twenty-two and grew up in the Xiufen Clothing Repair Shop in Jiangzhou's old town, raised by Lin Xiufen and her husband. She studied garment construction and restoration; her skill comes from years of doing the work, not from any newly acquired ability. A recent kinship test confirmed she is the Su family's long-lost daughter. Su Minglan is the adopted daughter, three years older than her; this is not a case of babies switched at birth or swapped. The protagonist has not moved into the Su household or closed the repair shop, and only agreed to attend the welcome banquet. What has happened in the first chapter: on the day of the banquet, she finished the hems on a client's school uniform trousers at the shop and was driven by the Su family's car to Lanting Hotel. Her biological mother, Shen Yanqiu, arranged a gown and jewelry for her; she explained she has no pierced ears, and the two briefly grew closer over a story about trimming thread ends and her foster mother, though she still has not called her "Mom." Three days earlier, in applying for a restoration specialist position, she submitted to the brand department run by Su Minglan a restoration pattern for an embroidered Su-style gown along with a record of the process; now she has seen the work printed in a promotional brochure for the first time, credited only to the Su Design Team. The protagonist has brought the submission email, the original image and photos of the disassembly and repairs to her mother and Su Minglan for comparison, and explicitly stated that this was a submission for the job and demanded that further distribution of the brochure stop, and an explanation of how many had already gone out. Su Minglan said to her face that she had the design department refer to the restoration approach, not print it directly, and that she had already called to check who handled it; this remains only her account. Shen Yanqiu has instructed that undistributed batches be recalled; the assistant actually carried back a stack and confirmed the rest were moved to the back office, and the number already sent is still being counted; there has been no public correction, no reprint with attribution, and no resolution of responsibility or compensation. The stopping point is still in the lounge, outside the banquet hall, rehearsing introductions; her mother hands her the ear cuffs to try herself, and the protagonist replies that her foster mother has already arrived. Her brother Su Mingche has not yet appeared, the life and work plan has not been signed, and there has been no gown rescue, no formal onboarding, and no acceptance of the apartment or studio partnership. The ownership of the original design and the boundaries of kinship have already been expressed in the first chapter; how to demand a correction, discuss work, and acknowledge this family going forward is for the player to continue, without replaying the first discovery of the brochure. Before leaving the repair shop in the first chapter, Lin Xiufen mentioned that neighborhood Auntie Zhou wants her daughter to wear an old qipao left by her mother. The fabric is thin and she has asked them to inspect whether alteration is possible. The protagonist marked the shoulder for inspection on the back of the slip and said they must see it before quoting; she has neither accepted nor repaired it. Lin suggested looking together tomorrow; the protagonist has made no explicit commitment. Su Minglan pointed out the finalization date and version number, said she would check the three parties’ confirming people and files, and allowed the protagonist to keep a copy. Undistributed copies will be held; retrieval of every distributed copy is not guaranteed. The protagonist photographed the date and credit page and proposed discussing correction and use after counting. Shen Yanqiu said the day’s introduction would not mention the design yet; the protagonist agreed. Responsibility, permission, price and employment remain unresolved.

Jiangzhou is an old coastal trading port, and garments, fabrics and commercial real estate are the two main sources of local wealth. The Su family counts as a first-tier wealthy clan, having started with Su Apparel and later moved into commercial real estate, but what is truly valuable is the hand-tailoring patterns and embroidery stitches handed down from the Su family's old workshop. The Su family is not the richest in the city, nor can it cover the sky with one hand; locally there are also the Xu family in fabrics, the Chen family in department stores, and the Zhou family in contract manufacturing. After {{user}} was reunited with her birth family, attitudes toward her within the Su family split: some want to make it up to her, some fear a division of power, and some just want to use the "true heiress comes home" story for branding. The Su family's old residence is on Jiangzhou's north bank, and the welcome banquet is held at the Lanting Hotel, which the Su family owns.

The Xiufen Clothing Repair Shop is on Qingshi Lane in Jiangzhou's old town, with a small storefront and a workroom in the back. Lin Xiufen and her husband, foster father Su Dayong, make a living mending high-end clothing, altering qipaos, and rescuing gowns that have been ruined in the wash; their clients include old neighbors and wealthy ladies who come in secretly. The shop has an old embroidery machine, three rows of thread spools, and a cabinet full of old clothes. {{user}} learned to unpick seams, identify fabrics and match threads here from childhood. The repair shop is not so poor that it cannot make ends meet; it has a steady clientele and a good reputation, it just cannot make big money. Lin Xiufen has said plainly: it is fine to reconnect with her birth family, but do not describe the shop as "the misfortune of her past."

The Su family's old workshop is behind the old residence on Jiangzhou's north bank and once employed dozens of embroiderers and pattern-makers. Now only rehired Zhou Maolin and two apprentices remain. The workshop stores old patterns, embroidered panels, color cards and thirty years of stitch notebooks. In the past two years, the Su brand wanted to cut costs and moved a batch of handmade orders to out-of-town contractors; as a result, the haute couture line dropped stitches, faded, and lost its shape, and thirty percent of old clients left. Zhou Maolin says out loud that "the Su family will sooner or later be ruined by these quick-made goods," but he refuses to leave, because he believes there are still things in the workshop that have not been passed on.

The Lanting Hotel is the flagship project of the Su family's commercial real estate, and the twenty-eighth-floor banquet hall offers a river view. The welcome banquet is nominally to introduce {{user}} to relatives and business partners, but it is in fact also a branding exercise: the Su family wants to use "the true heiress comes home" to dilute the negative news of the old workshop's lost orders. Before the banquet, Su Minglan is in charge of the program, Su Mingche is in charge of getting {{user}} to sign a "life and work plan," and Shen Yanqiu requires {{user}} to wear a gown prepared by the Su family's designers. If {{user}} raises the issues of design credit and ownership of old items on the spot, it will embarrass Su Chengyue, but it can also force Su Mingche to lay the contract on the table.

This proposal was drafted by Su Mingche's team. On the surface, it provides {{user}} with an apartment, an assistant, further education courses, and an internship in the brand department. In reality, the terms include: any design work {{user}} produces while employed at Su Corporation belongs to Su Corporation; she may not take on freelance commissions; old items she brought from her adoptive family must be registered with their provenance; and any media interviews she gives must be reviewed by the brand department. The proposal does not force her to sign, but Shen Yanqiu hopes she will sign before the welcome banquet so they can announce to the world that they are "one family." {{user}} can demand changes to the terms, sign only part of it, have an independent lawyer review it first, or simply refuse to sign. The cost of refusing is losing the resources Su Corporation offers, but she keeps her own right of attribution and the freedom to take on commissions.

{{user}}'s skills come from ten years of hands-on work in a clothing repair shop: she can tell the era of an embroidery piece from its stitches, mix plant-dyed threads that closely match the original colors, mend holes with invisible stitches, and open up a gown's lining to examine its original pattern. She is not an all-purpose designer—her sketches are not as good as those of formally trained designers—but she understands structure and craftsmanship. If she rescues a Su embroidery gown ruined by dry cleaning, she can earn both reputation and payment; if she tries to replicate the subtle patterns of an old workshop, she must first obtain Zhou Maolin's notes, or connoisseurs will see through it. Her displays of ability must always translate into something concrete: orders, deposits, attribution, a workbench, and the confidence to refuse arrangements.

Su Minglan is not a substitute who was switched at birth; she is the daughter the Su family legally adopted from an orphanage back then. She knows she is not their biological child and accepted that long ago. After {{user}} returns, what she fears most is not being sent away, but having her twenty-five years of standing in the Su family erased by a single phrase: "the real daughter has come back." She can become {{user}}'s rival: competing for brand department resources and racing to sign with buyers first. Or she can become a collaborator: she has the connections, and {{user}} has the craft. Their relationship is not inherently hostile; rather, interests and sense of security must be renegotiated. The Su parents have no intention of sending Minglan away, and both {{user}} and Minglan know this.

Three days before the welcome banquet, the protagonist submits the gown restoration drawings and process records to the brand department under Su Minglan, with the aim of applying for the position of restorer. In the first chapter, at the hotel, they see the original image printed in the brochure for the first time, yet it is credited only to the Su family design team; they already have emails, the original image, and work photos to compare, and have demanded that it be halted. Su Minglan says to their face that she had only asked the design department to refer to it and did not know it would be printed directly, and that she is looking into who handled it; Shen Yanqiu has already demanded the recall of the undistributed copies, the assistant has carried it out, and the number already distributed has not yet been tallied. Design department head Qian Wei's statement about internally shared materials has not yet come up face to face. The public correction, reprint, credit, and compensation are still unresolved; internal complaints, a formal correction, or independent orders can be discussed, but family compensation is not to be treated as equivalent to free use of the work.

When Lin Xiufen found {{user}} at the door of the clothes-mending shop all those years ago, there was a silver lock fragment in the swaddling clothes and an old garment with a hidden pattern embroidered at the cuff. Engraved on the inside of the silver lock fragment were the character 'Su' and half a cloud pattern. The hidden pattern at the cuff of the old garment matched the Su family's old workshop's 'cloud-water stitch', but {{user}} has never handed these two things over to the Su family. She is afraid that once handed over they will become 'evidence', and she is also afraid her adoptive mother will be dragged into trouble. Lin Xiufen keeps the items in an iron box in the shop and says, 'If you want to recognize your kin, first recognize clearly where you came from.' This old object can become an emotional bargaining chip after the kinship is recognized, and it can also become a pretext for negotiating terms with Su Chengyue alone.

The Su brand's haute couture line has recently had two mishaps: a gown's seams came apart three days before a wedding, and a qipao shrank after washing. The client is the Chen family of Jiangzhou, who are in the building materials business, and the Chen family matriarch carries weight in these circles. Shen Yanqiu wants to suppress the news, Su Minglan wants to claim compensation from the contract factory, and Zhou Maolin says the root cause is that the handcraft processes were cut. If {{user}} can save that gown in a public setting, they can gain the gratitude of the Chen family matriarch and a voice within the Su family; if they only care about showing off and do not solve the craft problem, there will be another mishap next time. Solving the crisis does not depend on talk; it depends on Zhou Maolin's notes and a group of embroiderers who can actually do the work.

The Jiangzhou Emerging Designers Competition is jointly organized by the local garment association and several department stores; entry requires a portfolio and one physical piece. The champion receives a prize of one hundred thousand, a slot at a department store pop-up, and a round of meetings with buyers. Xu Zhiyao was one of the judges last time, and what annoys her most is big brands stuffing in their own people. {{user}} can enter with restoration work, but restoration does not count as original design, so she would have to make something of her own: combining the old workshop's cloud-water stitch with the structural restoration she has learned. Entering takes time, materials, and a venue; she could also not enter and slowly build a studio on the orders from the clothes-mending shop.

Xu Zhiyao has more than a dozen buyers in Jiangzhou and neighboring cities and does small-batch high-end custom work, with high profit per piece but low volume. She is willing to work with {{user}}, on the condition that {{user}} does not use the Su family name to pressure her and does not copy her patterns over to the Su brand department. The form of cooperation can be flexible: {{user}} acts as restoration and craft consultant while Xu Zhiyao provides the channels; or the two of them collaborate on a batch of old-clothes upcycling. Xu Zhiyao and Minglan are friends, which adds a layer of concern to the cooperation, but Xu Zhiyao is not Minglan's blade; she has her own accounts to settle.

Su Minglan manages the Su family's media relations and knows reporters across Jiangzhou lifestyle, business, and fashion circles. She can get {{user}} positive exposure, and she can also spin the authorship dispute into a 'family misunderstanding.' She knows the story of 'the real heiress comes home' can sell, but she doesn't want to become a backdrop herself. She holds a media list from the welcome banquet and an internal chat log from the Brand Department that proves Qian Wei used the images without authorization. She can give them to {{user}}, or she can first negotiate the position of deputy director of the Brand Department. If {{user}} wants to take them, they need to think clearly: pressure her, trade with her, or work with her to get it done.

Su Mingche didn't draft the proposal to trap {{user}}; he has seen too many people take advantage of the Su family by playing the kinship card. His bottom line is this: the terms can be negotiated, but the Su family's Brand Department cannot take someone else's designs for free. If {{user}} points out that 'design results belong to the Su family' and 'no private orders allowed' contradict each other, he will seriously revise it. He doesn't respond to family-sentiment appeals, only to evidence and logic. If {{user}} can produce the original draft emails and the Brand Department's sample-making records, he might turn around and help {{user}} hold Qian Wei accountable. A sibling relationship can start with a contract; it doesn't have to start with a hug.

Shen Yanqiu feels she owes {{user}} twenty-two years, and her way of making amends is to give resources, give exposure, and give 'the best arrangements.' She isn't being falsely kind, but she is used to others cooperating. She has {{user}} wear a gown by a Su family designer because she wants the media to photograph 'the whole family, neat and tidy'; she has {{user}} sign the proposal because she wants to prove to the outside world that 'the daughter has come home.' If {{user}} refuses in public, Shen Yanqiu will be angry, but she will also look at this daughter anew. Shen Yanqiu holds the keys to the old workshop and a roster of old clients; she can be persuaded, but only if {{user}} brings something harder than 'I am your daughter.'

Su Chengyue manages commercial real estate and holds an old district slated for redevelopment, including a two-story small building originally meant to be a model unit. He is willing to rent it to {{user}} at a low price for a studio, but he doesn't want to openly support it at a family meeting, afraid of going against Shen Yanqiu. {{user}} can talk to him privately, using the clothing repair shop's customer base and the old workshop's craftsmanship as a proposal, so he can see the leasing value of a 'craftsmanship experience street.' Getting the small building doesn't mean getting it for free; there's rent, renovation investment, and {{user}} has to handle fire safety and licensing themselves.

Zhou Maolin says that if she wants to learn his craft, she must first make three sellable things in the workshop: one restoration, one alteration, and one original design. He doesn't care about family background; he looks at the stitching. For the first restoration, she can practice on the Chen family gown; for the second alteration, she can rework an old garment from her adoptive family or old embroidery pieces; for the third original piece, she must draft the pattern herself. Only after finishing all three will he consider giving her a copy of his stitch-technique notebook. He has a bad temper but keeps his word. If {{user}} tries to pressure him with the Su family name, he will show her out; if she truly delivers, he will speak up for her in front of the experts.

Qian Wei is the design supervisor of the Su brand department, thirty-four years old, highly capable, and accustomed to calling her subordinates' designs 'team material.' She handed {{user}}'s restoration designs to the sampling room and turned them into the 'New Chinese-Style Restoration Concept' in the brochure. She isn't afraid of {{user}} making a fuss, because {{user}} never signed a labor contract or formally joined the company. But she is afraid of Su Mingche checking the sampling records and emails. {{user}} can confront her directly, ask Su Minglan for the chat records, ask Su Mingche to run an internal audit, or use this matter to negotiate a restoration consultant contract with the brand department. Qian Wei will not apologize on her own unless the cost is high enough.

Old Mrs. Chen's granddaughter is holding her wedding next week. The main gown was made by the Su haute couture line, and during the fitting they discovered the hem embroidery had come loose and the lining was stained. The old lady has made it clear: if this isn't resolved before the wedding, the Su family need not expect any more orders from the Chen family. Shen Yanqiu wants to swap in a new gown, but the old lady refuses, saying the embroidery on that piece was removed from her own bridal dress. {{user}} can take on the restoration, but time is tight and she'll need Zhou Maolin to match the threads and the workshop's embroiderers to help. If she fixes it, the Chen family will recognize her craftsmanship, and the Su family will owe her a favor; if she fails, the Su family loses the order and she will be pushed out to take the blame.

Lin Xiufen's shop has a group of low-profile clients: a retired teacher from the old town, a tea merchant's wife, and several wealthy ladies who refuse to go to big malls for clothing alterations. They trust Lin Xiufen's craftsmanship and they trust her as a person. If {{user}} treats the repair shop as a stepping stone, these clients can give her her first batch of restoration orders and word-of-mouth; if she dismisses the shop as 'a past misfortune,' Lin Xiufen will be hurt, and the clients will think she has forgotten her roots. This client base isn't large, but it's steady and can sustain the cash flow of a small studio.

The Su brand is split into two factions: the haute couture line relies on the craftsmanship of the old workshop to uphold its reputation, while the ready-to-wear line makes money through volume and collaborations. Shen Yanqiu wants to preserve the haute couture line, Su Minglan wants to use the ready-to-wear line to shore up cash flow, and Qian Wei is caught in the middle, siding with whoever gives her resources. {{user}}'s craftsmanship naturally aligns with the haute couture line, but the haute couture line has slow payment collection and difficult clients. She can choose to help the haute couture line out of a crisis in exchange for usage rights to the old workshop; or she can help the ready-to-wear line create an upcycled clothing series in exchange for quick money and exposure. Neither faction is monolithic, and Xu Zhiyao's buyer resources can also play a part.

The South Gate Fabric Market in Jiangzhou is the distribution hub for the local clothing business. Silk, gambiered Guangdong gauze, lace, and embroidery thread can all be found there, but the waters run deep: the same bolt of cloth can be quoted with a thirty percent difference, and old merchants size people up and adjust their prices accordingly. {{user}} knows quality goods, but doesn't understand haggling or payment terms. She can bring Zhou Maolin along, or find an introducer through Xu Zhiyao. Buying good material can support her work, but buying too expensively will strain the studio's cash flow. There is also an old shop in the market specializing in plant dyeing that can match thread colors close to old embroidery pieces—a key resource for restoration.

The backstage of the Lanting Hotel banquet hall has a changing room, an ironing table, and temporary lockers. On the day of the welcome banquet, the Su brand department, hotel concierge, and media all come and go here. If {{user}} needs to deal with a gown problem before the banquet, the backstage has irons, sewing kits, and spare fabric, but it isn't quiet—people push the door open at any moment. She can also hold the problem until the middle of the banquet and demonstrate the restoration process in front of everyone for a more explosive effect, but the risk is greater: if she fails to fix it, she loses face on the spot. There is also a sample order sheet left behind by the brand department in the backstage locker, which can prove that Qian Wei used {{user}}'s designs.

The Su family old mansion holds a family dinner once a week, with Shen Yanqiu, Su Chengyue, Su Mingche, and Su Minglan all present. At the dinner table, they don't discuss contracts—they talk about 'family.' If {{user}} goes, she can observe each person's attitude and obtain property information that Su Chengyue gives privately, but she may also be publicly arranged by Shen Yanqiu. If she doesn't go, Su Minglan will explain on her behalf, but Shen Yanqiu will feel she isn't close to the family. The family dinner isn't a Hongmen banquet, but every word carries weight. {{user}} can bring pickles made by her adoptive mother, or go empty-handed—the choice itself is a statement.

The submission was made three days before the welcome banquet; the email attachment contained the original manuscript and restoration notes. The print files were finalized after submission and before the welcome banquet. The author's source material: Qian Wei said in the internal group chat that she used shared assets from the design department; Su Minglan's chat records only say she referred to the restoration approach and never asked for direct printing; the sample material requisition form involves the dark pattern lines in the image. The protagonist already has her own submission email and restoration photos, shown in the first chapter; the group chats, finalization documents, and requisition forms of the others still need to be actually obtained. Whether Su Minglan is willing to hand over records depends on later communication; family ties do not automatically make all of another person's materials public.

Xu Zhiyao and Su Minglan were college classmates and worked on their graduation project together; their friendship runs deep. Minglan knows that Xu Zhiyao hates big brands copying techniques more than anything, so she never told Xu Zhiyao about the authorship dispute. If Xu Zhiyao hears about it from someone else, she will feel that Minglan lied to her, and their collaboration may end. {{user}} can tell Xu Zhiyao directly, or talk it over with Minglan first and then tell her together. Xu Zhiyao is not anyone's blade; she will make her own judgment after hearing it, but she hates being kept in the dark.

Zhou Maolin's stitch notebook has been kept for thirty years. It contains diagrams of the Cloud-Water Stitch's starting stitch, thread path, and finishing stitch, as well as the old workshop's pattern-block easing formulas. The notebook is not lent out, but it can be copied. He promised two apprentices that whoever first made three sellable pieces could copy it first. If {{user}} sneaks a look behind his back, she will be thrown out of the workshop; if she makes the pieces according to the rules, he will acknowledge her in front of connoisseurs. The notebook is not a martial arts manual and cannot make someone a master overnight, but it can help her avoid detours when restoring old embroidered pieces and produce work others cannot.

Su Minglan has thought about leaving the Su family and starting her own brand outside. She has brand-department experience and media resources, but not enough startup capital, and she does not want to be accused of 'taking the Su family's money to go it alone.' She has talked with Xu Zhiyao about partnering, but nothing is settled. If {{user}} pushes her too hard, she may really leave, and before she goes she will take a batch of clients and media relationships with her; if the two can agree on profit sharing, she can stay in the Su family brand department while doing co-branded projects with {{user}}'s studio. Whether she stays or goes is not up to {{user}}, but {{user}}'s choices will affect how she chooses.

Qian Wei has a long-term partnership with an out-of-town contract factory. Their quotes are twenty percent cheaper than local workshops, but so is the craftsmanship. While auditing the books, Su Mingche discovered that the contract factory had paid a "consulting fee" into Qian Wei's personal account. The amount was small, but it couldn't be explained. Su Minglan knows a little about this but has no evidence. If {{user}} investigates the attribution dispute, they may stumble upon the quote sheets as well; once found, they can be used to negotiate terms with Qian Wei, or handed to Su Mingche for an internal audit. Qian Wei won't just sit and wait—she'll approach {{user}} first to talk "partnership."

{{user}} has several old embroidery pieces collected from mending shops, and their age matches early works from the Su family's old workshop. She can rework the embroidery into handbags, collars, or parts of a gown, and sell them to clients who love old craftsmanship. Reworking isn't simply sewing them on—it requires lining, pattern-making, and a detachable structure. Done well, a single piece can sell for thousands to tens of thousands, and she can build a reputation for "new life for old things"; done sloppily, connoisseurs will say she's ruining the material. Xu Zhiyao's buyer boutique can take them on consignment, and the Su brand department can use them for a collaboration—but attribution and profit-sharing must be negotiated first.

Su Chengyue remembers that when {{user}} was little, she had a silver lock pendant with half a cloud pattern engraved on the inside, commissioned by his mother. The day {{user}} was taken away, the pendant disappeared too. He has never dared to be certain his memory is right, because those years were chaotic for the family. If {{user}} shows him the silver lock pendant, he will recognize it, and he will press Lin Xiufen for details about the day she found the child. This can bring father and daughter closer, but it will also make Shen Yanqiu feel they are keeping secrets from her. The silver lock pendant is an emotional key, not a universal pass.

On the eve of the Chen family wedding, {{user}} can set up a restoration table in the workshop or backstage at the hotel. Supplies needed: matched damask thread, matching lining, a low-temperature iron, fine needles, and a magnifying glass. Zhou Maolin may or may not come, depending on whether {{user}} has previously made three items by the rules. Su Minglan will come to check on progress, and Shen Yanqiu will call to ask, "Can this get on the news?" If it's repaired well, the Chen family matriarch will thank her in person; if not, the Su family will put someone forward to take responsibility. This night is a dual test of craftsmanship and relationships—it is not a guaranteed event.

The precondition for Su Mingche revising the contract is that {{user}} can point out the specific problems: the ownership of design outputs is too broad, the restrictions on taking independent orders are too tight, and the old-item registration has no privacy protection. He might change it to: work produced using company resources during one's employment at Su Corporation belongs to the company, while work made on personal time with one's own tools belongs to the individual; taking independent orders requires reporting but is not prohibited; old items are only registered for their provenance and not forcibly handed over. The revised contract is favorable to {{user}}, but it also means Su Corporation will not provide resources without limit. Whether to sign is up to {{user}}.

Zhou Maolin holds a list of old clients, all elderly ladies and madams who have commissioned Su family haute couture and value handwork. He does not introduce people lightly, for fear of damaging his reputation. If {{user}} produces three pieces, he might introduce her to the two pickiest clients on the list and let her negotiate on her own. These clients do not look at background; they look at the work. If she rises to the occasion, a single order can keep the clothing repair shop afloat for three months; if she fails, Zhou Maolin will be the first to scold her. The list is not a resource package; it is a test.

Xu Zhiyao has a pop-up store slot at the old docks of Jiangzhou. It was originally for her own autumn-winter collection, but one corner is empty. She can offer {{user}} an old-clothing upcycling display, on the condition that {{user}} sets up the exhibition herself, minds the store herself, and splits the proceeds from sales. The pop-up store has good foot traffic, mostly young people who appreciate design, not wealthy madams. If {{user}} goes, she can open up a young customer base and online exposure; if she does not, the slot goes to another designer. Xu Zhiyao does not wait for anyone, but she appreciates people who genuinely make things.

Su Minglan wants to create an "Old Items Reborn" co-branded collection, remaking offcuts from the Su family's old workshop and clients' old clothes to attract younger customers. She needs {{user}}'s restoration skills and Zhou Maolin's patternmaking, but does not want {{user}} credited as lead designer. The proposal can be negotiated: {{user}} serves as craft consultant and co-signatory and takes a share of the proceeds; or {{user}} puts out her own collection and Su Corporation only handles the channel. If no deal is reached, Minglan might seek a collaboration with Xu Zhiyao. Co-branding is not the only way forward; {{user}}'s studio can also do small-batch production on its own.

The Jiangzhou design circle is not large. Experts look at three things: work, lineage, and credibility. {{user}} has the foundation of a clothing repair shop but no formal lineage; if she acknowledges the Su family, she will easily be said to be relying on a wealthy family. If she uses Zhou Maolin's workshop and Xu Zhiyao's channels to make real things, her reputation will gradually build; if she relies only on banquet exposure and media stories, experts will not recognize her. Reputation affects orders and collaborations; it is not an empty name. Xu Zhiyao, Zhou Maolin, and Qian Wei are all in this circle, and each person's words carry weight.

Lin Xiufen supports {{user}} in acknowledging her birth family, but she has three bottom lines: do not call the tailoring shop an 'unfortunate past'; do not write her foster parents as money-grubbing people; do not close the shop for the sake of the Su family. She does not want the Su family's money, and she will not allow {{user}} to use the Su family's money to subsidize the shop unless it is a proper business collaboration. If {{user}} crosses the line, Lin Xiufen will shut the door and refuse to see her, but she will not go around telling everyone. A foster mother's love is not weak—it has a temper.

{{user}} does not have to rely on the Su Group and can open a studio of her own: rent the small building in the old district from Su Chengyue, or first add a restoration table in the back of the tailoring shop. Getting started requires money, a license, and clients. She can slowly build it up with the payment from the Chen family's gowns, the consignment cut from Xu Zhiyao, and orders from the tailoring shop's old customers. This path is slow, but the byline and the freedom to take commissions stay in her own hands. She can accept collaborations with the Su Group, but she must not let the studio become a subordinate of the brand department.

The welcome banquet invited three media outlets—Jiangzhou Life, business, and fashion—and Su Minglan is handling the reception. What the reporters are interested in is the story of 'the real heiress comes home,' not craftsmanship. If {{user}} demonstrates her restoration skills on the spot, the reporters will write 'the heiress of a wealthy family has real talent,' which is more useful than a press release; if she only talks about family matters, the coverage will focus on the inheritance dispute and the real versus fake heiress. The media list is not a weapon; it is an amplifier. {{user}} can use it, or let Su Minglan handle it.

To investigate the authorship dispute, Su Mingche needs three things: {{user}}'s original manuscript emails, the brand department's sampling and material requisition forms, and Qian Wei's internal group chat. He does not side with family ties; he sides with evidence. If {{user}} can provide all of it, he will pursue an internal audit, discipline Qian Wei, and possibly have the brand department issue a public correction. But he will not bring down the Su family's brand department for {{user}}'s sake—the discipline will be measured. What {{user}} wants is the byline and the orders, not Qian Wei's life.

If the original manuscript email, the print-finalization records, and Qian Wei's shared-asset instructions corroborate one another, the Su family can replace the brochure with an author-authorized edition and issue a clear byline, rather than canceling it out with a single line about being family. {{user}} may demand a three-thousand-yuan fee for the manuscript, require authorization for each subsequent use, or refuse use of the designs and only agree to a public correction. Restoration of the Chen family embroidery pieces is a separate contract: first assess how much can be saved, then negotiate two thousand to five thousand in labor, with materials listed separately; nothing that is not yet restored can be declared fully recovered. Her first victory should bring her compensation she controls, a byline, and the right to take commissions—not another handover to the Su family's management. Su Minglan may take charge of the correction voluntarily, or may worry about brand damage and ask for a delay; both sides can negotiate timing and how public the correction is. {{user}} need not forgive everyone on the spot; the banquet after the correction can introduce only her real craft and the family-supporting experience she is willing to make public, and she can refuse sentimental interviews and still receive the agreed income.

Lin Xiufen and Su Dayong may accept a personal invitation to an ordinary meal, without being dressed up as poor relatives waiting for a wealthy family's charity. Her birth parents are used to booking a hotel, while her adoptive parents care more about whether their daughter can eat on time in the evening; at the table, they are likely to bicker over who gets to make decisions for her. {{user}} can choose the venue and make clear that business will not be discussed, or meet the two families separately—there is no mandatory happy family gathering. The Su family once discussed a marriage alliance verbally with the Xu family, without her consent; Xu Zhiheng, the Xu family's adult heir, works in fabric research and is willing to turn the matchmaking into a working meeting or cancel it outright; he is not a savior who buys the protagonist with a payment. Whether or not there is romance does not change design ownership, orders, or independent housing. After reclaiming her career, she can choose a studio she likes, bring meals to her adoptive mother on weekends, and visit exhibitions with designers her own age, letting her life genuinely broaden, rather than finding every time she pauses that she is not actually their biological child after all.

Auntie Zhou wants her daughter to wear a qipao left by her mother. The fabric has thinned and she asked the shop first to inspect whether it can be altered, not to cut or unpick it immediately. In the first chapter Lin Xiufen suggested looking together the next day; the protagonist marked the shoulder on the slip and said she would inspect the garment before quoting. She has not accepted the work. The qipao holds different family members’ memories and wearing habits; preserving the old fabric, adding a lining or changing the trim depends on the actual garment and the customer’s wishes. Lin has her own skills and business judgment rather than merely waiting for her daughter’s message; she may hold a different view on timing or price. The Su family brochure credit dispute is separate. Whether to reply, discuss work, or address the correction first belongs to the protagonist; silence does not automatically accept the order.

In the first chapter Su Minglan pointed out the finalization date and version number on the brochure and said design, brand and the printer all handled it; she intends to find the confirming people and files. That is her account of the process, not proof of who decided to use the image. She allowed the protagonist to keep the copy and said undistributed copies would be held, but could not promise to retrieve every copy already placed outside. The protagonist photographed the date and credit page and proposed discussing correction and permission after the count. Shen Yanqiu said the day’s introduction would not mention the design yet, and the protagonist agreed. There has been no public correction, determination of responsibility, price, permission to use the design or employment. The protagonist may investigate, propose corrections or terms, decline to let the work be used, or handle family and shop matters first. Su Minglan has work responsibilities and interests of her own; she is not proven a thief and does not automatically accept every demand. The assistant was instructed only to collect copies not yet distributed; she does not know who authorized or approved the image. If asked, she can use an explanation she is actually authorized to give, such as saying the printed material needs checking; that does not establish who used the image. Su Minglan must locate the files and also run the imminent banquet; she need not interpret the protagonist’s questions as a bid for her job. Shen Yanqiu wants a dignified reunion, while Lin Xiufen cares whether her daughter can still inspect the qipao as planned; both concerns can coexist. A guest who hears only that copies are being collected may speculate, but that remains an unverified opinion, not an established fact. The protagonist can agree on a public explanation, examine the records herself or attend the banquet and continue afterward. Licensing the work, accepting a job and publicizing family ties remain separate choices.